Strange Start
by HiM'e'iTSu
Summary: Only a couple of meeting which can be a start to a beautiful but strange relationship. Kyoya stumbles over Nekozawa Umehito one evening. But why does he feel the strange urge to help the young man he barely knows?


**Author: **HiM'e'iTSu

**Beta:** Ireina Kurotsuki. Thank you for your help:)

**A/N: **I haven't posted anything in a long time. Feel kind of sorry for that. And anxious too.

Even though the pairing can be considered strange I still hope you'll like my story:) Oh and I changed the events of the anime just a little bit;)

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'_Can at least one day pass normally here?' _thought Otori Kyoya, the vice president of the Ouran High host club, also as known as the Shadow King, as he watched Tamaki Suoh, "the King" lift in his arms and spin around a little giggling blonde girl, who obviously was _not_ his little sister as she claimed, for he was the only child in the Suoh family.

'_This is madness. It's too much, even for Tamaki. He can't be that thoughtless, can he?'_

Oh, but he could and moreover, he did. The blond king hugged the girl and promised to be the best big brother ever. Kyoya felt irritation bubble inside of him, he already knew that the big problem was coming, or more like, a big problem that Tamaki had caused that the vice president would have to solve. The other host club members were watching in shock how the idiot chatted to the girl, when a creepy voice was heard. It was whispering, calling out for someone.

"Kirimi-i-i…Kirimi-i-i…"

Hunny shuddered and stepped closer to Mori, and the twins looked around quizzically.

"Kirimi…" The voice continued calling.

Suddenly the big door opened and a blonde youth in an Ouran uniform rushed in.

In a second, dozens of thoughts raced through Kyoya's mind, one after another:

'_Who is he?_

_I don't recognize him…Why don't I recognize him? I know every person in this school, even teachers and first years included. Maybe he's a transferred student? But then why wasn't I informed that there was a new student coming? Did my information network fail? How could that be?!_

_Though his face seems familiar…He's pretty, beautiful even. That blonde shade of hair…not as annoyingly bright as Tamaki's; and purple blue eyes. He's got delicate features and pale skin. Definitely very good-looking._

_Maybe we can get him join the club, I'm sure he'll be popular and raise our profit…But then again, why don't I know who he is?' _

All this ran through Kyoya's head in seconds while the unfamiliar young man looked around worriedly. Then two strange people appeared behind him.

"Young master, you forgot your cloak and the wig." A scary-looking maid said as she with the help of the other servant, (who resembled the Frankenstein monster a lot) spun the blonde around and put the aforementioned pieces of clothes on him.

The Ouran High School host club fell into abrupt silence once again, all frozen on the spot and staring in shock at the person before them. And then:

"NEKOZAWA!?"

*****

'_Well, this can be called a happy ending.' _Kyoya thought while watching excited couples dance. One such couple, which attracted the most of the guests' attention, was the king of the host club with a pretty brown-haired girl. The Hitachiin twins were constantly moving from one place to another, chatting to students and other guests, making jokes, playing their favorite game and just having fun, not letting go of each other hands even for a second. Hunny was happily eating a huge strawberry cake with Mori by his side, with a little smile on his stoic face putting another piece on the plate when the previous one was devoured.

The atmosphere was cheerful and light; everything was just fine, the way it should be. Old problems solved, new ones were sure to come, but they will deal with them later. Now they just could relax and have fun.

_'Well deserved fun.' _Kyoya commented in his mind when he remembered the stressful operation "Bring the idiot back". With all his skepticism he could admit it was a success.

But somehow on this beautiful evening he found himself feeling…lonely. Which was very unordinary for a person like the youngest Otori heir.

He had friends, very good friends: sweet (meaning naïve – Tamaki of course), funny, childish (meaning idiotic – yet again, Tamaki), reasonable (Oh, Haruhi), strong (this of course about Hunny-sempai), quiet (such a great quality held by Mori-sempai) and always ready to help (or taunt in the case of the Hitachiin twins). But he didn't have anyone special while his friends did.

He glanced at the dancing crowd one last time, noticing that the red headed twins were pulling a prank on Tamaki and, deciding to ignore it this time, turned away and headed to the gardens. The bright colorful light illuminated it beautifully, making every tree in the middle to stand out while hiding in the shadow the ones growing closer to dark alleys. A perfect place for romantic walks, but he was there alone. That realization gave him a strange feeling, because never before had he minded being alone. Now though…

Kyoya walked up to a big fountain in the middle and sat down on its marble edge. The place was not far away from the dance floor, but the music was barely audible, the soft noise fading in the calmness of the evening. He put his hands on the cold stone behind himself, leaning back on them and lifting his head to look in the dark sky. The sight of it as well as the sound of running water was rather relaxing.

The fireworks were over, now instead of them little but bright stars shone in the sky. His mind wandered back to the host club members and a same kind of a happy sadness entered his heart. As a distraction the violet eyes searched the well-known landscape.

Suddenly Kyoya heard a rustling sound and turned his head to the direction of it. In the darkness he could only distinguish a shape of trees not far away and nothing more.

After a minute he heard it again. And again. And yet again. Then a thud and all grew silent.

Kyoya was sure that the school grounds were perfectly protected, so the one causing the sound should be another student or a maid. Well, it also could have been a cat, but the vice president doubted it. He wasn't in the mood to deal with any problems at that particular moment, but nonetheless stood up and headed toward the noise.

When coming from the lit fountain to the dark alley behind a row of trees it was difficult to see anything at first, but then his eyes adjusted and he noticed a person sitting on the ground with their hands clutched tightly around their legs, head on the knees. Light blonde hair fell freely around the person's shoulders, hiding their face completely.

He took a few steps closer and realized that it was indeed a student, a young man in blue jacket with the emblem of Ouran High School. As Kyoya approached, the grass rustled beneath his feet and the student lifted his head startled. Large blue eyes stared at him, probably trying to make out his features in the dark, surprise clearly written on his pale face. Pink lips parted slightly and only one word fell from them with a light breath.

"Who?" He asked.

It was obvious he couldn't see Kyoya's face, only a silhouette on the dark background, but the black haired student was able to see him so well that he even managed to tell who it was. Surprisingly the lonely student in the dark garden was one Nekozawa Umehito, though without his wig and cloak.

Kyoya found it strange, how vulnerable he looked, like a creature of light lost in the darkness. Even more strange, that it was the president and only member of the club of dark magic.

"Nekozawa-kun, what are you doing there?"

"Otori-kun? Why are you here?"

"I've asked you the same question."

The blonde lowered his eyes, gaze fixated on his knees. Kyoya softened a bit; seeing the boy so weak made him want to help Nekozawa, which was yet again not a common feeling for the Shadow King, at least not when dealing with strangers.

"I thought I'd walk a little…but there was too much light so I…"

"I see." Kyoya nodded.

"And I had lost Beelzeneff somewhere here." He looked around himself nervously as if expecting the neko doll to appear at his side by itself, and when that did not happen he sighed and turned his sad eyes back at the other student.

The host club member looked at him taking in the slender figure shaking from the coldness of night air slightly, or maybe the reason for his shiver was disappointment, his pale face gave away all his feelings of grief and violet blue eyes searched the ground nervously. Kyoya sighed quietly.

"Do you know where exactly you dropped it?" He finally asked.

The blonde head lifted quickly at his words, surprised eyes now looking straight at him.

"I guess in this alley…"

Kyoya looked around.

"It's not a big area. We can look together."

"You will help me?" Nekozawa asked, and Kyoya didn't like how unsure his voice sounded. Was the Shadow King claimed to be such a cold hearted person or was the boy himself so unused to other students' help?

"Yes." Kyoya proved this statement by extending his hand to help the president of the dark magic club up. The blonde took it tentatively and gave a small smile as a thank you. Strangely, Kyoya found himself smiling in return.

_Strangely. _This word was following him since the very morning. The start of the day, the chase after Tamaki, his father finally appreciating his hard work, and now it…_So strange._ But what startled him the most was that strange feeling he got while still holding Nekozawa Umehito's fragile hand and watching his shy smile.

He let go at last and took out a phone from the inner pocket of his jacket in order to use it as a substitute of a torch.

It was yet again _strange_ to walk side by side with Nekozawa in almost complete darkness, with slow waltz music reaching them from the party further away _strangely_ sounding much louder than before in complete silence among the two. Both were looking at the ground, eyes searching for the doll.

"Why aren't you wearing a wig and a cloak?" Kyoya asked absentmindedly _strangely_ wanting to start any kind of the conversation.

"It's dark enough here now." The blonde answered and Kyoya almost groaned – such an easy and logical answer, he could have guessed. "Heh, it's strange that now the darkness is against me."

_Strange._ Nekozawa had just used that same word too, which was…odd. Yes, let's say odd for a difference.

"Why aren't you celebrating with the others?"

Kyoya thought about his possible answer for a moment. He wasn't a type of a person to reveal his thoughts to anybody, moreover he himself wasn't sure why now, when all his friends where dancing and chatting he was in a dark alley with a person he barely knew; and he felt comfortable about it, like it was right, how it should be.

"I got bored." He answered. It was partially true.

"That costume is…funny." Nekozawa commented, glancing at the host club member from the corner of his eyes. Being reminded that he was still wearing the nineteenth century clothes, Kyoya frowned.

He knew he looked stunning even in them, but still felt a little stupid. It's a one thing when the whole club looks like idiots while cosplaying, but another when there is a normal person walking by your side. Still he wondered if 'normal' was a fitting word to describe Nekozawa Umehito. The guy was the president of the dark magic club and believed that cats had supernatural power over his fate. Now though Kyoya didn't find it as unnerving as the last time.

When the blonde neared the trees still intently looking at the ground, Kyoya let himself watch the boy more closely. Nekozawa was slender-boned, subtle even and rather slim. His thin long fingers brushed the grass when he reached down during the search. Pale blonde hair glowed in the light of the young moon and Kyoya suddenly realized that he wanted to be able to see those beautiful eyes which sadly wasn't possible in this darkness. Nekozawa turned to the Shadow King, probably feeling the gaze on him. The blonde's face was completely calm.

"Found something?" Kyoya asked in his normal strict voice to cover up his _strange_ behavior. He really wasn't acting like himself that day.

Nekozawa shook his head as a "No" and returned to the search. Time passed, they covered up the whole alley in nearly an hour but still hadn't found anything.

"I don't think it's possible to continue." Kyoya finally said, looking the blonde in the eyes for the first time in the past half an hour. He'd wanted to let his gaze wander to the beautiful boy so close to him but didn't let himself do so. It wouldn't do any good for Otori Kyoya to be caught staring, he had a tough reputation to keep after all.

"Yes, I guess you're right…" Was a quiet reply.

He clearly looked disappointed and _strangely_ Kyoya didn't like it.

"There is no point in looking anymore. It's better to continue when it will be light enough." Nekozawa's brows furrowed and the host club member got an urge to say something reassuring. "Maybe maids will find it tomorrow, or it might be that the gardener had already picked it up."

The blonde looked at him thanking him only with a lingering soft gaze, but that was more than enough.

They silently walked back to the fountain, from where Kyoya had first noticed Nekozawa. The blonde muttered "Thank you" and "Good bye" and, after one final glance combined with a small smile, left to the direction of the school. The dark haired host club member watched him disappear from view and only then turned away and headed to where the party was still going.

_Strangely _he didn't feel as lonely as before.

Not stopping, but maybe slowing a bit, Kyoya fished out his cell phone, previously used as a torch and now securely hidden in the pocket of his old-fashioned trousers. He flipped it open and dialed a very well-known number.

"I need a squad. To the school. Now."

*****

The next morning when not even a ray of sun managed to get to the dark room through the thick black curtains, a butler, who very much resembled a Frankenstein monster, came in to wake up his young master. Light blonde hair and pale skin made it impossible not to notice a figure lying on a large bed among dark sheets.

"Young master, you asked us to wake you up."

Nekozawa groaned a little, but complied. After finishing all his morning routine he, still sleepy, went downstairs to get breakfast. The blonde didn't reach the dining hall though, because he was stopped by his personal maid.

"Young master, a package was delivered for you this morning." She said with a mischievous glint in her dark eyes. It made him wonder if it was something extraordinary, or she was just plotting something as always.

'_Strange.__'_thought the blonde boy and took a little casket from her arms. It was nice, made of dark wood with carefully carved curves. Simple but beautiful. He wondered who could have sent it. The only persons giving him presents were the members of the Nekozawa family, even including Kirimi now after everything that had happened in the host club, for which he was very grateful of course. Oh and that strange kouhai who confessed to him last year. His answer was an immediate "No!" and after a couple months of stalking and presents too sophisticated even for him she stopped.

Nekozawa opened the lid carefully and gasped, blinked slowly and stared at the thing lying inside in silent shock. There on a piece of dark violet cloth was accurately placed Beelzeneff. The blonde gently took the doll in his arms, a large smile blooming on his face. He stroked the doll's head lovingly as if caressing a living creature and only after a few minutes his gaze returned to the casket and he noticed a little piece of paper, which before was hidden by the cloth. Only one phrase was written on it in a neat handwriting. Nekozawa's smile winded as he read them.

_I believe I deserve a reward for finding this little precious thing for you_.

There wasn't any signature, but the blonde didn't need it to know who had sent him the doll and the note. When he continued his way to the dining room, smile never leaving his beautiful face, Nekozawa wondered if this could be a start of a wonderful new relationship in his life, be that a friendship or something more…

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**A/N: **I need a review. Really need a review:)

But, seriously, tell me what you think, please.


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